Category Archives: Marmon Group

Cornelius, Inc., the world-leader in beverage dispensing systems, is preparing to showcase its beer dispensing technology that uses beer concentrates that are fully hydrated at the point of dispensing.

Cornelius and Sustainable Beverage Technologies (SBT), a Colorado based developer of concentrated beer technologies, will feature beer being dispensed from concentrate at the 2016 National Restaurant Association trade show in Chicago.

SBT has applied its unique BrewVo brewing technology toward developing a portfolio of beers with three craft brewers to create new beers that are concentrated until served from a Cornelius dispenser. The three craft breweries are New Belgium, Crazy Mountain, and Denali.

According to Cornelius, the combination of SBT’s BrewVo technology and Cornelius dispensers will allow these premium craft brewers to share their products with customers in a more efficient and sustainable manner.

Cornelius, Inc., the world-leader in beverage dispensing equipment, was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway’s Marmon Group in January 2014.

In November 2015, Cornelius and Sustainable Beverage Technologies announced a strategic partnership to market concentrated beer dispensing solutions to beverage brand owners and foodservice retailers across the globe.

According to SBT, using only traditional brewing ingredients (water, malt, hops, and yeast), SBT’s patented BrewVo technology utilizes a unique process called “Nested Fermentation”, in which brewers manage the fermentation environment where a highly concentrated beer is produced. When the beer concentrate is later mixed with carbonated water, the result says SBT compares to any premium beer on the market.

Pat Tatera, CEO and founder of SBT, said: “It’s exciting to work with world class breweries that provide exceptional craft beers, and also have such strong values towards the environment and sustainability.”

Drinking beer make you environmentally responsible. Now, that’s a message that millions of beer drinker will raise a glass to.

And, if you are too young to drink beer, Cornelius has a concentrated milk dispenser technology as well. In 2015 the company partnered with Dairyvative Technologies, a Wisconsin-based developer of a patented process that allows pasteurized milk to be concentrated to a liquid that has one seventh of its original volume.

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

With the Flint water crisis making lead in drinking water front page news, schools across the country are testing their water. They are also looking for measures that can lower drinking water lead contamination for their students.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Marmon Water, Inc. has debuted its Safe Fountain System to remove lead and other contaminants from drinking fountains in schools and public/industrial buildings.

The new product line from EcoWater Systems ensures clean, safe, and good tasting water, even in the case of boil water alerts.

Lead and other contaminants in drinking water is an issue nationwide. While much has been said about lead coming from municipal water systems due to old lead pipes in the streets, problems can also exist in homes and buildings built before the early 1990s that used high-content lead in copper piping and lead solder and, to an even greater extent, in pre-1960s homes and buildings where lead pipes were routinely used. Even if a municipality addresses lead problems related to old pipes in the streets, issues may still be present in the home.

Concerns are based on lead’s significant effect on the brain and central nervous system. High lead levels have the greatest impact on fetuses, infants, and children under six years old, potentially causing learning disabilities, hyperactivity, and other medical conditions. In addition, high levels of lead in adults may contribute to medical problems including high blood pressure and diabetes.

According to the company, EcoWater’s new Safe Fountain System uses National Science Foundation-certified lead, bacteria, virus, cyst, and chemical reduction cartridges to ensure the quality of water just before it is consumed from the fountain. Systems come equipped with a range of safety features including real-time Wi-Fi monitoring, automatic shutoff, tamper-proof stainless steel housings, and braided water line connectors, giving users peace of mind. EcoWater’s nationwide network of water treatment professionals monitor usage and perform routine maintenance and cartridge replacement as necessary.

The company is ready to install the Safe Fountain System this summer in order to have them in place at schools before kids return in the fall.

EcoWater also makes filtration systems that can be installed in school cafeterias, and it has a filtration system that goes in five and ten gallon coolers used by sports teams. The cooler filters are made by EcoWater and sold under the Brita brand through a licensing agreement.

EcoWater also offers NSF-certified microbiological drinking water purification systems as well as a complete line of similarly certified reverse osmosis drinking water systems and a host of other filtration systems for home and/or business applications that also reduce lead and other contaminants from the water supply.

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The collapse in crude oil prices that has shuttered wells in the United States, and lowered oil train traffic for BNSF Railway, is also impacting the Union Tank Car Company (UTLX).

UTLX has announced that it is cutting its production by 50-percent.

The Berkshire Hathaway-owned company will cut 230 jobs in Houston, Texas, and also plans to lay-off employees at its plant in Alexandria, Louisiana, as well.

UTLX has sent a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification letter to the Texas Workforce Commission notifying it that the tank car facility located on Old Beaumont Highway 90 will be the source of the Texas layoffs.

UTLX will still employ 323 people at the Houston facility after the job cuts are completed in June.

Jeremy DeLacerda, UTLX manufacturing general manager, cited the “current market conditions and the industry-wide demand outlook for railroad tank cars,” as the reason for the lay-offs and production cuts.

This is not the first time that UTLX has had to dramatically scale back production due to soft demand.

The UTLX manufacturing facility at England Airpark in Alexandria, Louisiana, endured similar lay-offs in 2006.

“You never want to hear news like this, but it’s not a surprise,” notes Jim Clinton, president and CEO of Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance

“We knew they would have to cut production on some level,” Clinton added. “I’m sure they were hoping it would not be to the extent this apparently is. But the market is what the market is. They’re a good company that’s responding to market conditions.”

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Tank Car manufacturer and servicer Union Tank Car (UTLX), which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, has opened a remanufacturing facility in Marion, Ohio, to retrofit DOT-111 and CPC-1232 specification railroad tank cars.

Under the Enhanced Standards for New and Existing Tank Cars for use in an HHFT— existing tank cars must be retrofitted in accordance with the DOT-prescribed retrofit design or performance standard for use in an HHFT.

An HHFT is defined as a train carrying 20 or more tank carloads of flammable liquids (including crude oil and ethanol).

The need for replacement and retrofitted tank cars impacts shippers that ship by rail, including shippers of LPG, oil producers and refiners, and ethanol producers that own their own tank cars or lease them from leasing companies, and Berkshire’s BNSF Railway’s own fleet of tank cars, which includes a portion of the 25,000 tank cars it acquired in September 2015 from GE Railcar Services.

The retrofitting adds top fittings protection, thermal insulation, an 11-gauge steel jacket, full ½-inch thick head shields, and a bottom outlet valve handle that disengages from the valve when the car is in transit. In addition, DOT-117R cars also have their trucks and brakes reconditioned.

Retrofitting existing tank cars is an important bridge to safer shipping of flammable liquids, as the current backlog of new tank car orders sits at a record 52,000 units.

The new facility currently can retrofit two tank cars a day using a specially designed drum welder that fabricates the tank jackets, and the plant will rewrap 60 tank cars a week when it reaches full capacity.

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority granted a 55-percent, 5-year tax credit to UTLX for the creation of $8,272,000 in new annual payroll, provided that the company maintains operations at the facility for 11 years.

UTLX also received a $75,000 grant from the Ohio Rail Development Commission to cover the cost of on-site rail improvements.

Under the corporate umbrella of Berkshire’s Marmon Group, UTLX owns and manages a total of 120,000 railroad cars.

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Thorco Industries, which the conglomerate owns as a part of its Marmon Group of manufacturers, is shuttering its Lamar, Missouri manufacturing plant and laying off 93 employees.

The closing will take place this spring.

The company designs and manufactures custom point-of-purchase merchandisers and store fixtures from wire, sheet metal and tubing for the retail industry.

General Manager Debra Probert noted that “retail industry changes, including the growth of e-commerce and the opening of fewer brick-and-mortar stores, has resulted in a continued decline in demand for store fixtures, such as the wire-based merchandising displays and accessories produced by Thorco.”

Thorco Industries has been in Lamar for almost 117 years, with its origins as a manufacturer of wire potato scoopers. The company was founded in 1899 by F.M. Thorpe.

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Dairyvative Technologies, a Wisconsin-based developer of a patented process that allows pasteurized milk to be concentrated to a liquid that has one seventh of its original volume, has received a major new round of funding.

Dairyvative received a $2.5 million investment from two undisclosed Wisconsin dairies, and from the BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation.

The money will be used to enable the company to expand its staffing and boost production for more commercial trials.

What’s that have to do with Berkshire Hathaway?

Berkshire’s Cornelius, Inc. and Dairyvative are looking to change the way milk is shipped, stored, and dispensed.

In August 2015, Cornelius signed a strategic partnership agreement with Dairyvative that makes Cornelius the exclusive provider of equipment to hold and dispense the concentrated milk provided by dairies using Dairyvative’s patented SEVENx technology.

One of the newer members of the Berkshire Hathaway family, Cornelius was acquired for $1.1 billion on January 2, 2014, by Berkshire’s wholly owned Marmon Group.

All of these companies and more are potential customers for Dairyvative’s new technology.

A Whole New Way to Store Milk

Dairyvative claims its SEVENx technology “allows pasteurized milk to be concentrated to a liquid that has one seventh of its original volume. The lactose-free end product is shelf-stable without refrigeration for up to 6 months. The process also keeps milk proteins intact, maintaining nutrient and flavor profiles.”

“I have been working on this process for 28 years,” said Dr. Charles E. Sizer, founder and CEO of Dairyvative Technologies. “There have been a lot of hurdles in maintaining the functionality and freshness of the product.”

One of the first markets for the SEVENx technology will be in quick service restaurants, where using Cornelius’s dispensing technology, the new dispenser will allow individual consumers the choice of adding several different flavors to the milk. Cornelius’ technology also enables the milk to be carbonated during dispensing.

Looking for a World Leader

“We knew Cornelius is the leader in dispensing products, so we approached them and signed an exclusive deal,” Dr. Sizer explained.

While Dairyvative touts the concentrated milk as having the “natural fresh taste of milk,” it does note that it is slightly sweeter due to the conversion of lactose into the sugars glucose and galactose.

Dairyvative also says that the cost for dairy processors to produce the concentrated milk is low, as much of the equipment that processors need is already in place. They also note that the long shelf-life means less spoilage and returns, lower transportation costs, and environmental benefits such as less electricity needed for milk storage.

Reducing the Carbon Footprint

Reducing the carbon footprint is very important to Dr. Sizer. He notes that currently it takes 2.05 kilos of carbon to bring 1 kilo (1 liter) of milk to the consumer.

“We can reduce that by 20%-30% right out of the gate,” Dr. Sizer said. “And by locating in close proximity to the dairy, we can reduce it even further.”

Expect to see the U.S. rollout of the new milk product in 2016, and Dairyvative is already in discussion with multi-national dairies for international markets.

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

First Berkshire Hathaway wanted to change the way you drink milk, now they want to change the way you drink beer.

In August 2015, Berkshire’s subsidiary Cornelius, Inc. signed a strategic partnership agreement with Dairyvative that made Cornelius the exclusive provider of equipment to hold and dispense concentrated milk using Dairyvative’s patented SEVENx technology.

According to SBT, using only traditional brewing ingredients (water, malt, hops, and yeast), SBT’s patented BrewVo technology utilizes a unique process called “Nested Fermentation”, in which brewers manage the fermentation environment where a highly concentrated beer is produced. When the beer concentrate is later mixed with carbonated water, the result says SBT compares to any premium beer on the market.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cornelius will be the exclusive provider of equipment to dispense the concentrated beer provided by SBT. Using Cornelius’ technology, the dispenser will utilize a state-of-the-art water filtration system that will mix carbonated water with the beer concentrate to provide the end user with a premium beverage. This solution will significantly reduce beer related space requirements within bars and restaurants creating an easy install for owners.

Cornelius, Inc., the world-leader in beverage dispensing equipment, was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway’s Marmon Group in January 2014.

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The price for Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition of substantially all of GE Railcar Services’ owned fleet of railroad tank cars has just been revealed.

Berkshire’s Marmon Holdings, Inc. acquired the assets on September 30, 2015, but at the time no price was announced.

In a filing on Friday, November 6, Berkshire revealed that the price was $1 billion.

Approximately 25,000 full-service and net-leased tank cars were acquired in the transaction, and Marmon also will take over certain GE Railcar Repair Services’ repair and maintenance facilities by the end of 2015.

Marmon already owns tank car manufacturer UTLX, which manufactures tank cars and engages in full-service leasing. UTLX furnishes all the services that are normally the responsibility of an owner and backs those services with the necessary specialists to keep fleet records of maintenance, repairs, and other administrative details.

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Shipments of Bakken Formation crude oil have brought billions in revenues to BNSF Railway, and new opportunities to Berkshire Hathaway’s tank car manufacturer UTLX. It has also put Berkshire and BNSF in the middle of disputes over the safety of these shipments and the source of various hazards.

On one side are environmentalists and communities along rail lines that have cited volatility concerns as to the flash point of Bakken Formation crude oil, claiming it is a special hazard as compared to the transportation of other crude oils. On the other side is the AFPM, a trade association representing 400 refining and petrochemical companies, which is suing over BNSF Railway’s $1,000 per tank car surcharge in a battle to keep costs low in producing crude oil from the Bakken Formation.

BNSF’s surcharge is designed to incentivize shippers to move to tank cars that meet new Department of Transportation standards. Technically, BNSF is not calling its $1,000 per tank car charge a surcharge, rather it says it has raised its rates and is discounting rates for shippers using new DOT 117/TC-117 tank cars. A court will decide whether that holds up and certainly key to that may be whether Bakken crude is more hazardous than other cargo.

The AFPM has disputed that Bakken crude oil is more hazardous a cargo than other crude oil, or other chemicals hauled by railroads. AFPM’s position is that the surcharge on tank cars ignores the root cause of derailments, which they assert is tied to poor track conditions and human error.

Will the Surcharge Stand Up?

In a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, AFPM stated that “Any effort to enhance rail safety must begin with addressing track integrity and human factors, which account for sixty percent of derailments. Investment in accident prevention would result in the greatest reduction in the risk of rail incidents.”

Now, the head of the National Transit Safety Board has weighed in on the issue.

NTSB’s Christopher Hart Dismisses Volatility Concerns

Concerns that the oil from the Bakken Formation are of higher volatility and create a greater risk in the case of accidents were downplayed in recent statements by the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) chairman Christopher Hart.

Hart, in a radio appearance on radio station KFGO-AM in Fargo, North Dakota, stated that the NTSB’s accident investigations of rail accidents found that Bakken crude volatility isn’t a significant issue.

“The biggest contributor to a large explosion or fire is how much product is released, rather than the volatility of the product,” Hart said.

The Department of Transportation is working to reduce the amount of product of all types released in a rail accident by mandating new tank car standards that require jacketed and thermally insulated shells of 9/16-inch steel, full-height half-inch-thick head shields, and re-closeable pressure relief valves and rollover protection for top fittings.

The Department of Energy Report

A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report in March 2015 looked at the volatility of light sweet crude from the Bakken Formation in comparison to other crude oils in the same category. The report was prepared by Sandia National Laboratories with the assistance of a technical team that included the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center.

In its report, the DOE found no link between crude oil properties and the chance or severity of a fire caused by a derailment. Instead, the report found that the kinetic energy created by the derailment was a larger factor in the size of a fire than the volatility of the crude being transported, the researchers said.

Is Bakken Crude More Volatile?

As for the volatility of crude oil from the Bakken Formation, Turner, Mason & Company conducted a study in 2014 for the North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) which found that Bakken crude “appears to be generally similar in vapor pressure and light ends content to most light crude oils, and there are certainly crudes, particularly those produced from tight oil formations, which are higher in those parameters.”

Congress Looks at Bakken Crude

The U.S. Congress took up the issue of the safety of transporting crude oil from the Bakken Formation last year.

In September 2014, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held an energy and oversight hearing with experts from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Department of Energy, ND Petroleum Council, Turner, Mason & Company, and the Syracuse Fire Department. The hearing examined the characteristics and behavior of crude oil from the Bakken region.

At the hearing, officials testified that the increased risk of an incident has to do with the increased volume of product being transported and not the volatility characteristics of Bakken crude.

BNSF’s Role as a Common Carrier

As a common carrier, BNSF Railway can’t refuse under most circumstances to carry cargo, despite the potential loss or damage presented by the cargo.

And, while BNSF’s growing role as a mobile crude oil pipeline has meant billions in new revenue, it also has presented new risks in regards to fire in the event of derailment, collision, or other accidents.

BNSF has responded by pushing for safer tank cars, and has boosted training for both its crews and emergency responders in communities along its routes.

New Tank Cars and Retrofitting Existing Fleets

Under Enhanced Standards for New and Existing Tank Cars for use in an HHFT—New tank cars constructed after October 1, 2015, are required to meet the new DOT Specification 117 design or performance criteria.

The standards will require replacing the entire fleet of DOT-111 tank cars for Packing Group I, which covers most crude shipped by rail, within three years and all non-jacketed CPC-1232s, in the same service, within approximately five years.
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An HHFT (high-hazard flammable trains) is defined as a train carrying 20 or more tank carloads of flammable liquids, including crude oil and ethanol.

The need for replacement and retrofitted tank cars impacts a wide-range of shippers that transport by rail. Those shippers include shippers of LPG, oil producers and refiners, and ethanol producers that own their own tank cars or lease them from leasing companies. It also impacts BNSF Railway’s own fleet of tank cars.

Retrofitting existing tank cars is an important bridge to safer shipping of flammable liquids, as the current backlog of new tank car orders sits at a record 52,000 units.

A Significant Portion of BNSF’s Revenue

One thing that’s not in dispute is how significant the transportation of volatile liquids is to BNSF. Petroleum, Ethanol and LPG make up roughly 7-percent of BNSF’s freight hauling. In 2014, BNSF moved enough petroleum to fill the gas tanks of 350 million vehicles.

Another thing that’s not in dispute is that the move for safer tank cars benefits Berkshire’s UTLX, a manufacturer and retrofitter of tank cars that has been hiring and opening new facilities due to the unprecedented demand.

Berkshire has also been expanding the number of tank cars that it owns.

Berkshire’s Marmon Holdings, Inc., the unit of Berkshire Hathaway that owns UTLX, acquired substantially all of GE Railcar Services’ owned fleet of railroad tank cars as of September 30, 2015. Roughly 25,000 full-service and net-leased tank cars are covered by the transaction.

Still One More Dispute in the Wings

With NTSB’s Christopher Hart dismissing the volatility issue of Bakken crude as an extraordinary hazard, BNSF’s dispute with the AFPM may mean it is now in a weaker position to justify its tank car surcharge, which is something that could potentially cost Berkshire and BNSF millions down the road.

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Marmon Holdings, Inc., a unit of Berkshire Hathaway, has acquired substantially all of GE Railcar Services’ owned fleet of railroad tank cars as of September 30, 2015.

Approximately 25,000 full-service and net-leased tank cars are covered by the transaction.

Expanding UTLX

Marmon already owns tank car manufacturer UTLX, which manufactures tank cars and engages in full-service leasing. UTLX furnishes all the services that are normally the responsibility of an owner and backs those services with the necessary specialists to keep fleet records of maintenance, repairs, and other administrative details.

In addition, Marmon also agreed to acquire certain GE Railcar Repair Services’ repair and maintenance facilities by the end of 2015.

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.